{Being Sick}

Being Sick is no fun!  In fact, it is a sad, pitiful, rotten thing!  I don't like it at all and I know my family doesn't like it either.  But, this has gotten me thinking...

We {Daddy, myself, Ian, Evan, and Ilse} really only get sick occassionally; Flu, Viral, Headaches, and the every-so-often Respiratory issue for those of us with Asthma.  All of these illnesses are Acute {temporary} and we recover fully and go back to our normal lives. Sometimes, we miss school or work, spend a few days in bed if necessary, but otherwise we are totally 100% again when the illness is over.

This is NOT the case for Oliver.  He spends his whole life Chronically Ill.  When he {catches something} from someone else, it is an added Acute Illness on top of his Chronic Illnesses.  Even though Oliver recovers from these Acute Illnesses, he sometimes suffers long-term/permanent {setbacks} because of them.  Also, if Oliver recovers fully from an Acute Illness, he still  has NEVER known what 100% feels like because of his lifetime of Chronic Illnesses.

To Oliver it is {normal} to be attached to 50 ft of Oxygen Tubing 24/7; to have a G-Tube in his abdomen to be fed through; to have Sinus and Ear trouble; to be short of breath and be tired out easily; to be visited by various Therapists who try to disguise repetitive {therapy} as {play}; to have a Special Diet due to severe Food Allergies...etc, etc, etc.

As parents, it is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to do our best for all of our children, to keep them Happy AND Healthy.  In our family, that means we take extra precautions to keep Oliver from having ACUTE Illnesses and {setbacks} if at all possible.  This requires taking measures beyond what perhaps families of {normal} children take.

We stay at home with Oliver- keeping his exposure to other people, germs, etc to a minimum.

Oliver receives Schooling & Therapy AT HOME because he gets sick too easily from kids at school.

We do not take Oliver anywhere where people ARE sick or HAVE BEEN sick recently.

If we take Oliver to public places, we keep him away from people, wipe off doorknobs, cart handles, etc.

The most frequent public places Oliver visits are required Medical Appointments...this presents huge potential for making Oliver sick in and of itself!

During certain times of the year, we are concerned about seasonal things such as:

Pollen Counts, Humidity Levels, Hi/Low Temperatures,

Wind Chill Factor, etc.

 

As Oliver's parents & siblings, we all limit our out-of-house activities based on the possibility/probability of bringing an illness home to Oliver.

We do not knowingly allow anyone who IS sick or HAS RECENTLY been sick into our home.

If anyone in our family gets sick, we QUARANTINE them to try to make sure they do NOT make anyone else sick, especially Oliver.

All said, we know that we are most likely viewed as DRAMATIC or EXTREME or OVERLY PROTECTIVE or all of the above by those who don't understand Oliver's every day health.  We live with the knowledge that OTHER PEOPLE do not understand WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO:  {No One Lives My Life}, I always say!  Don't worry, Ian, Evan, and Ilse are used to the routine of illness prevention that is required in our family...they benefit from it just as Oliver benefits from it as well.

{If a child is constantly getting sick on top of existing Chronic Illnesses, their bodies spend all their time fighting germs/infections which causes lack of normal growth and development IN ADDITION to delays in any attempt at recovery from the Chronic Illnesses plaguing the child!}

...and if as parents, it is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to do Our Best for all of our children, to keep them Happy AND Healthy, then I think we're on the right track!

It is OUR TRACK!

No, it is not easy to live the way we do...We miss out on A LOT...But after 5+ years, we have adjusted to our family's version of {normal}.  It would be helpful for other's around us to UNDERSTAND why we do what we do...but even when they DON'T, we know we are doing Our Best at Our Job!

{Here's to being Happy AND Healthy!}

-Renee'